Educational Science

Exxon Valdez (Image credit: NOAA)The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska on March 24, 1989, releasing nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the 2011 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of...

OPEC Oil Embargo, 40 Years Later: Has Anything Changed?

Forty years ago this month, the entire world breathed a heavy sigh of relief — though that sigh, and the reason for it, are largely forgotten today. In March 1974, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), made up primarily of Arab nations, decided to end a six-month embargo...

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, extracts oil and gas from deep underground by injecting water into the ground and breaking the rocks in which the valuable hydrocarbons are trapped. But it also produces wastewater high in certain contaminants — and which may be radioactive. In a study published today (Oct. 2)...

Why Would Royal Dutch Shell Abandon the Arctic? (Video)

Joss Fong is a video producer and science journalist living in New York. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Geologists estimate that the Arctic holds more than 20 percent of the planet's oil and gas resources. Alaska's waters alone may contain 24 billion barrels...

Fracking is Draining Local Communities (Op-Ed)

Frances Beinecke is the president of NRDC, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, and holds a leadership role in several environmental organizations. This article is adapted from a recent post to Switchboard. She contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed...

Pockets of Oil from Exxon Valdez Spill Persist Along Alaskan Coast

Small pockets of oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill still persist in pockets along Alaska's coasts, hidden by rocks that have kept the elements from breaking down the crude oil, scientists reported yesterday (Feb. 27). The Exxon Valdez spill was the largest oil spill in U.S. history until...

States Take National Lead in Regulating Fracking (Op-Ed)

Chris Busch is director of research and Veery Maxwell is director of communications, both at Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology. They contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In the absence of additional federal action to regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking), states have increasingly adopted policies to govern...

Straw Could Power Jets

Straw is often thought of as a fuel for horses, but if a French research project pans out, passenger jets could soon fuel up with biofuels derived from this agricultural byproduct. The ProBio3 project began last July with financing from a French economic stimulus program. The effort aims to use...

Arkansans Still Suffering Effects from Seeping Oil Months After Mayflower Spill (Op-Ed)

Rocky Kistner is a communications associate for the NRDC. This post is adapted from one that appeared on the NRDC blog Switchboard. Kistner contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It's been a warm, rain-soaked summer in the small lakeside community of Mayflower, a sleepy residential town...

Nearly 6,000 Natural Gas Leaks Found in Washington, D.C.

Aging pipelines under the streets of Washington, D.C., are to blame for nearly 6,000 natural gas leaks, including 12 that could have caused dangerous explosions, a new study finds. Researchers from Duke University and Boston University mapped 1,500 road miles (2,400 kilometers) of underground infrastructure that delivers fuel to power...